On this webpage you can listen (1979 - 202*) to the solo projects by Menko Konings aka EM / Menko / eM.
Main inspiration: Suicide (Martin Rev & Alan Vega), funk, B-movies.
Founder of: S.M. Nurse / No Honey From These / Plastic Cocon / Top Tape.
A brief history:
Around 1980, Menko Konings (EM) founded the legendary Amsterdam underground formation S.M. Nurse. The last performance took place at the end of 1983. That same night the band No Honey From These, a duo consisting of Robby Horsfall and EM, also played there. They continued together until the late eighties. No Honey From These knew how to mix experiment and pop, from rough to tender. The pair performed frequently, including in Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam, De Tagrijn (Hilversum) and the open-air theater in the Vondelpark. They could be heard several times in the VPRO radio programs Frontline and De Wilde Wereld. In addition, Robby Horsfall and EM formed the experimental formation Plastic Cocoon.
At the same time, EM (instruments, vocals) was active with home taping and performed solo, including as support act for the Japanese formation Frank Chickens in the Melkweg (1984). He founded the independent label Top Tape, under which compact cassette tapes were released. At the time, recordings were mainly made on a two-track Revox tape recorder using the ping-pong technique. Top Tape cassettes were sold at Staalplaat, the shop for independent cassette labels in the Spuistraat at Amsterdam. VPRO radio (RadioNome, Spleen, Frontline, De Wilde Wereld) and Oscar Smit, editor of the Dolby column of the music magazine Vinyl, among others, regularly paid attention to the new releases of Top Tape. EM also supplied contributions to two LPs (Contactdiscs) from the record label Stichting Stopcontact.
On Top Tape are from EM the cassettes appeared: to, to New York (1984); B movies (1985); dedicated to Charles Bronson (1986); love you (1987).
For more information on the Top Tape releases, see the cover images and reviews in the photo gallery. See also:
https://www.reverbnation.com/label/toptape
Around 1990 EM quit. His musical activities to resume them more than 15 years later. From then on he releases a few CDs under the Top Tape label: eM. (2006); live in NY (2007); play it loud! (2009). A number of songs on these CDs contributed: Antonia (vocals) and Robby Horsfall (lyrics, vocals). Several songs from these CDs were played by presenter Oscar Smit in his program Beautiful Extremes on the Amsterdam internet radio station Studio 80.
Also was EM active again from 2007 with Robby Horsfall as No Honey From These until Robby's death in 2013.
In 2014 EM gave live performance at Grauzone/Melkweg Amsterdam and a Walhalla release party at Antwerp.
Around 2014 there was a connection with Knekelhuis. This resulted e.g. in a day long jam session with Parrish Smith. EM also played guitar parts on tracks by Parrish. One of those tracks was released in 2018 on the Top Tape compilation 12” Butterflies.
From then on EM resumed his solo activities. In 2018 EM did a live performance at Kunstverein Amsterdam. In 2020 EM made his first album on vinyl, “on the one”.
Releases:
EM on several Top Tape cassette tapes and CD’s:
https://www.discogs.com/label/732289-Top-Tape-2
EM on vinyl (1986):
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Contactdisc-4/release/402274
EM on vinyl (1987):
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Contactdisc-5/release/402276
EM on vinyl (2014, Macadam Mambo):
http://www.phonicarecords.com/product/dunkeltier-rising-macadam-mambo-trax/125084
EM CD (2015, Domestica):
https://domesticarecords.com/collections/domestica-records/products/dom20-l-s-m-nurse-hometape-recordings-1981-1983-lp?variant=30164274381
EM on vinyl (2017, Contort Yourself):
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/80s-underground-cassette-culture-volume-1/656123-01/?utm_campaign=alert_auto_email&utm_source=auto_email_jr&utm_content=new_release&utm_medium=alert_title
EM on vinyl (2018, Top Tape):
https://www.discogs.com/release/12333856-Various-Butterflies
EM 12" album (2020, Top Tape):
https://www.discogs.com/release/14769379-EM-On-The-One
EM digital album (2020, Top Tape):
https://toptape1.bandcamp.com/album/the-first-tapes-1984-1986
EM compilation cassette (2023, Medio Mutante):
https://www.discogs.com/release/26969132-Medio-Mutante-Model-Citizens
EM digital mini album (2022, Top Tape):
https://toptape1.bandcamp.com/album/em-featuring-antonia-2006-2009
EM / Menko Konings 12" LP (2024, Top Tape):
https://toptape1.bandcamp.com/album/love-songs-3
EM / Menko Konings DVD (2024, Top Tape):
https://toptape1.bandcamp.com/merch/s-m-nurse-menko-konings-em-limited-edition-40-dvds
Reviews:
https://worldofechomusic.com/products/menko-konings-love-songs
https://boomkat.com/products/love-songs-67f15347-0472-4cbd-9064-74d1ccc55cc5
https://boomkat.com/products/to-to-new-york
http://inverted-audio.com/premiere-menko-the-first-kiss/
http://www.darkentries.be/nl/cd-s/em-love-songs/
Wepages:
https://toptape1.bandcamp.com/
https://m.soundcloud.com/user-481658373
http://www.reverbnation.com/em1
http://www.facebook.com/pages/eM/196695420345240
http://www.reverbnation.com/smnurse
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SM-NURSE/113202698766681
https://www.instagram.com/s.m._nurse/
http://www.reverbnation.com/nohoneyfromthese
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NO-HONEY-FROM-THESE/218215091533889?sk=app_2405167945
http://www.reverbnation.com/lembrassetoptape
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LEMBRASSE-TOP-TAPE/135126246562754
http://www.youtube.com/user/emtoptape?feature=mhee
http://www.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/entry/eM.
http://www.discogs.com/eM-To-To-New-York/release/2697407
http://www.discogs.com/label/Top+Tape+%281%29
https://www.instagram.com/top.tape/
